House Majority Leader Kirk Cox on Board of Health delay

Virginia House of Delegates Majority Leader Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights) issued the following statement Thursday on the Board of Health’s decision to delay a vote on abortion clinic regulations after the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules notified the board it was about to violate Virginia law.

“The Board of Health was forced to delay a vote on abortion clinic regulations because the McAuliffe administration could not properly follow the basic steps of the regulatory process. The administration worked on these regulations for two years and still could not get it right. I applaud the members of the General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules for exercising legislative oversight authority and informing the administration on the proper application of Virginia law.

“These regulatory changes are misguided. Last year, I testified against the proposed elimination of strong health and safety standards at a Board of Health meeting.  As I said then, in the rare and undoubtedly scary moments when a mother feels that abortion is her only choice, she should be assured that the abortion will be completed in a safe environment capable of meeting all of her medical needs. The damning Planned Parenthood videos and recent news reports of dangerous abortion providers operating in the Commonwealth are more than enough evidence to justify the need for strong standards for abortion clinics.

“Unfortunately, this process has been rigged from the start. By posting the results of a vote before the vote even took place, the administration disrespected not only the law but also the opinion of hundreds of Virginians.”